GENESEE COUNTY -- The battle continues and the deadline is getting closer. Genesee County has just a couple of weeks to cut more than $15 million out of the budget. One of the hot issues on the table is whether to shut the door to a health center for women and children.
One person at Tuesday morning’s budget meeting said, "we're already at a critical point -if you take their services away - it's like pulling the plug."
One by one concerned residents cried out, saying they want the doors to the McCree North Health Center on Flint's north side to stay open. County controller George Martini says in addition to the financial slump the county's in the McCree Building is also falling apart.
However, newly appointed director for the Genesee County Health Department, Mark Valacak says eliminating services in the north end is not the answer.
A final decision has yet to be made. Valacak says he and Martini will sit down this week in hopes to come up with an answer. Supporters of McCree say if the building is closed area residents would be left without any service or transportation. County commissioner Brenda Clack says she hopes the finance committee and the commission can come up with a way to keep that from happening.
Commissioners decided to close the doors to McCree months ago, but the opposition is forcing them to think again. Martini and Valacak have agreed to meet by Thursday to talk about possible alternatives.
